The present invention aims to solve the problem that arises when it is desired to automate the systems of a house such as lighting, HVAC or entertainment, and it is necessary to modify the electrical installation to install a smart home controller device to meet their needs of power. For example, if a user wants to install an LCD-type touch-screen controller to control a smart bulb of his Smart home, rewiring of the entire house would be needed to supply AC or DC power to the screen if there is no power outlet nearby, which represents an economic problem and a time-consuming process. The present invention proposes solution by means of an electronic circuit that may be installed by replacing a common wall switch that only has two wires without the need to have the neutral wire, such as occurs in a conventional light switch. This circuit will have the necessary size to fit in the space occupied by the previous switch inside the electrical box or wall box. The circuit contains a docking station in its front, which can receive and power different types of controllers for smart devices for home automation applications like a smart bulb or a smart security system. The electronic circuit is also able to control a conventional light bulb by constantly drawing energy from the electrical installation by letting a small current pass through the conventional light bulb, which should be small enough to not let the light bulb illuminate. The wireless controllers of the smart home controller device are able to talk to the Smart home via Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Zwave, Nordic, Bluetooth or any other type of communication. Also, these wireless controllers are removable so they can be used anywhere in the house. When the wireless controllers need to recharge their internal battery, they must return to the docking station to recharge.
The present invention also aims to solve a problem presented by all the smart bulbs that contain the control and communication electronics integrated in the same smart bulb. These smart bulbs require energy 24 hours a day to be remotely controlled through wireless communication. By implementing a smart bulb with a normal switch, the current flow is completely interrupted when the switch is open, and current flow to the smart bulb is allowed when the switch is closed. The problem arises when a user turns off the switch and interrupts the power supply to the smart bulb. When this happens, the smart bulb runs out of power, which prevents it from listening to wireless signals that allow the smart bulb to be activated remotely, for example, through a mobile application. Consequently, smart bulbs can only be controlled remotely, by means of an application, or with the physical switch connected to the electrical installation. That is, smart bulbs can not be controlled in both ways at the same time; if the user turns off the wall switch, the smart bulb loses all its automation qualities until the user physically reactivates the switch on the wall. This is a great inconvenience for the user, specifically when he wants to control his smart bulbs remotely, since it is not possible to do it if the switch cuts the current of the smart bulb completely.
All smart home controller devices in the market implementing an LCD touch screen require a neutral wire in the electrical installation in addition to the hot or live wire to operate. Additionally, some of these smart controller devices require an Ethernet (UTP) wire to operate properly. This generates a serious wiring problem when the house is already built. Consequently, if a user wants to install on the wall some type of smart home controller device that is able to recharge the wireless controller's battery, modifications to the electrical wiring of the house are generally required.
Most smart bulbs in the market work with a Wi-Fi module or through a Zwave/Zigbee radio module integrated in the bulb. In the case of a Wi-Fi bulb, it communicates directly with the Internet Router and in the case of a Zwave/Zigbee bulb, it communicates with a central control hub that acts as a bridge between the smart bulb and the internet.
Currently there are several types of wireless controllers for smart bulbs in the prior art which are button boards with wireless communication that communicate with a central module. These button boards contain a small battery or contain a mechanism that generates electrical energy from the motion when pressing the button. They have limited functionality though, since they are not rechargeable and once the battery runs out, they must be replaced or the button board will stop working and the only way to control the smart bulb would be through the mobile app. It should be mentioned that there are not implementations that control smart bulbs with an improved interface such as a LED screen, since the current consumption in these wireless controllers (button boards with wireless communication) is incredibly limited. Therefore, if a person wants to install a wireless controller with an LCD interface or similar in a wall box or electrical box made for a conventional switch, he would have to change the wiring of the house and install a neutral wire to get enough power for the operation of the screen or even to set up a smart tablet in the wall and connect it to an electrical outlet, since the batteries of the current wireless controllers do not provide enough power for the operation of the touch LCD screen.
The technology described in the present application comprises a power supply, which partially exists in the prior art, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,201,064 B1 belonging to the same Applicant known as KLEVERNESS INCORPORATED, wherein the differences will be described in the detailed description of the invention, that does not require a neutral wire to be able to draw power from an existing electrical grid and generate DC power for an electronic circuit. One of the embodiments of the present invention occurs when the power supply is connected to an electrical box in series with an incandescent bulb, wherein sufficient energy can be drawn from the line to power the electronic circuit while a relatively small current passes through the bulb. The current passing through the incandescent bulb is not enough to make the bulb light up due to its high impedance. Another embodiment is implemented when the lighting load connected to the smart home controller device is a low power bulb. In this case, the power supply is connected to a conventional LED or CFL bulb or even some smart bulbs, and it is necessary to use a snubber adapter connected in parallel with the bulb, since due to the low impedance of these bulbs it is possible that the current passing therethrough will make them light up. That is, a capacitor, resistance or even a smart snubber circuit, which already exists in the prior art, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,021,765 B1 belonging to the same Applicant known as KLEVERNESS INCORPORATED, with electronic components is connected to the bulb to let a small current pass therethrough without the bulb having the blinking problem commonly called flicker, wherein the bulb flickers without control. It is worth mentioning that, in the case of smart bulbs, some smart bulbs work as a snubber adapter, since in order to operate, the electronic circuits therein allow the current to flow all the time through the smart light bulb itself, which allows the power supply to be powered in an uninterrupted way and thus eliminating the need for an external snubber adapter.
The smart home controller device is able to work with a three-wire connection, i.e., with the hot, neutral and load wires and thus the need for a snubber adapter is eliminated.